Latch for pivoted locking bolts for repeating firearms



2,614,462 LATCH FOR PIVOTED LOCKING BOLTS FOR REPEATING FIREARMS Filed April 10, 1948 Oct. 21, 1952 v. A. BROWNING 2 SHEETSSHEE'I 1 QM q N m\ om m mw 6 ow Qw 9 N% N k Oct. 21, 1952 v. A. BROWNING 2,614,462

LATCH FOR PIVOTED LOCKING BOLTS FOR REPEATING FIREARMS Filed April 10. 1948 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 7 V I, r

L H H In a 3 3 8 grwemm \/AL A. BROWN/N6 Patented Oct. 21, 1952 umrso psrA-ras PATENT OFFICE na rcn roarivorcn LOCKING BoL'rs FoR REPEATING FIREARMS,

H ValAQ Browning, Ogden, Utah.

w H 'Application ApriI -IO, 1948;Serial No; 20,261" r i; 5=Claimsi (Cree-164) This i invention relatestto repeating firearms 10f the recoil: operated typewherein the barrel and breech bl'ock= aresl'ocked together. b'ya locking block wh'ic'h, during recoil movement of thebarrel, is automatically moved to an unlocking position andwhich locking block, when the breech block reaches or:approaches:its-:normally' forward position, isagain automatically engaged: with the barrel.

An aim. ofthe present invention" iscto provide a very simple; economical," and efiicient arrangement for positivelymaintaining the locking block in i a clisengaged position where it will not engage or wipe againt the barrelex-tension during the ft'zrvwircl motion ofthe breech block and which locking blockis automatically released so as to moveto locking position after the breech block hasreached orapproximately reached its foremost position;

A fiirtheraim of the invention is to-provide an improved arrangement wherein that portion of tlie ejection-opening 'whichis not closedby the breech block is closed by a-closuremember with which-is associated the means'for latching the locking block in said unlocking position.

Other objects will'be in part obviou's and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter;

The invention accordingly consists in the features of" construction; combination of elements andarrangement of parts which will-be exemplified in-the constructionhereafter set forth and the scopeof" theapplication of. which will be indicated in" theappendedclaimsi I The following: 'oles'criio tion will be' more readily understood byreferring to the accompanying drawings; in which -similar 'reference numerals refer to similar parts; and in which Figure 1 is' a sectional 1 view "taken generally longitudinally and vertically through' the firearm with the breech block and other parts shown in side elevation and in firing position, the rear and forward ends of the firearm being: omitted; Fig. 2- is= a view similar to Fig. 1 but with the breech-block 'shown inlongitudinal, vertical section; i l

Fig-l 31is 'a: plan viewpartly in cross' section and showingr the operating np'arts in l firing posi+ tion; V l l v Fig. 4 is a view similarsto'Eig. 3 but-illustrating thezirelative ,positionzof thevpartswhen the breech blockleas reachedcthe:=endiof-ritsirecoil movement Figs 5- is' axvertical; cross :sectionailview through the firearnr sliow ing theiparts iinithez positiomof Fi ifland 1 l v Fig. 6 is a perspective -viwof the' combined suitable. manner;

latch: for. the lockingblock. and the=closure for thee? ection openings In the drawings l have "shown; for illustrative purposes, the improvements of the'presentinvenr- I tion incorporated in a; firearm such as isillus1- trated and describedin my Patent No. 2,409,733 granted October 22, 1946, it being understood that such showingis byrway of? example only and not' byrway ofj'limitation. Only? so much of the firearmisiillustratedas'is necessaryrfor an understanding of :thezpresent invention, it being, under;- stood; that thefirearm will be provided with a cartridge carriergfor transferring one or more cartridges in/ succession up to the barrel extension', .and firing;mechanism offany' suitable type may be provided;

t Referring to thedrawings in detail, the-firearm is shown ashaving a" frame or receiver I0 and aabarrel ll,,the:latter; having a barrel extension lzimounted for reciprocating: movement within the receiver. Below the barrel is a guide member l3uwhich'mayor may not-be inthe form of a .magazine, this guide member being; adapted to guide theforwardportion of the barrel in any This guide member may sup,- port a recoilspring designated bythenumeral l4. Extending; downwardly and rearwardly from the rearend-of thereceiver is a tube l5 -within which isamounted a guide. member [6 behind whichis an action spring: I l.

Mountedtwithinfthe' receiver is a-breech block upper; wall provided: at its rear end with a l for;

wardly iacingsshoulder 3| with which the. sholil der 251011 the: locking: block 2'4 i tladapteda to engage, Ia's showni in'l Fig; 1. The lockin'gtbl'ock isf slotted on its under side 'so as to accommodate the firing pin and the forward end of a linli '32i The link "32 is pivoted between' its en s t'o 'the rear lower corner of the locking vblock as*bWmeans of 'a-pih' 33:. Therear endof the-"link is pivctally associated with theforward end of theishide piec-e l 6& In the" present illustrative disclosure, the

to cooperate with an upwardly and rearwardly inclined cam surface 35 on the rear face of the forward wall of the breech block, as described more particularly in my said Patent No. 2,409,? 33. The present invention is not limited to this particular construction as my improvements may be incorporated in repeating firearms wherein unlocking of the locking block is efiected in differ- .ent manners.

When the firearm is fired, the barrel and breech reached or approximately reached its rearmost position, the locking block is disengaged from the barrel extension, whereupon the breech block and a the parts associated therewith continue their recoil movement and then the action spring advances the'breech block to its normal forward block recoil together and, when the barrel has position, the barrel having been advanced'to its forward position by the recoil spring. In accordance with the present invention, I provide an improved, simple, and very efiective latch 40 for the-breech block, and a portion of this slide may be employed, as later described, to close, in part,

the'ejection opening when the breech blockis in its breech closing position. It is, of course, obvious that the latching member may take a form other than that particularly here shown.

' 1 The latching member is generally U-shaped ini'plan view, it having a long arm 4| and a shorter arm 42, these arms being in straddling relation to one side wall of the breech block.

More particularly, the long arm is located in a longitudinally extending groove 43 in the exterior side face of the breech block, and the other arm is accommodated by a groove 44 on the side face of the recess of the breech block. The connecting portion between these arms is designated by the numeral 45. The long 'arm 4| is of such length thatone end or the other thereof extends'beyond the corresponding endof the breech block. The shorter arm 42, which constitutes the locking latch proper, is of-such length that, when the slide is in its rearmost position (see Figs. 2 and 3) with respect to the breech block, the arm is free of the locking block and, when the slide is in its foremost position (see Figs. 4 and 5) with respect to the breech block, the forward end of the arm extends over an upwardly facing ledge 46 on the locking block, this ledge being just rearwardly of the locking shoulder 25. The forward end of the long arm 4| is bent inwardly as at .41 so as to lie in front'of a shoulder. atthe forward end of the breech 'block soth'at the extent to which the slide .may; move rearwardly with respect to. the breech blockis limited. The member 40 is made of spring metal and the arm'4l resiliently bears against theppposing facevof the breech block so that there is a drag or friction therebetween to prevent accidental movement of the slide. with respect to thebreech block.

' It willbe observed from the drawings that the ejection opening 5|] is longer than the breech block in order to facilitatethe ejection of the empty shell. and, therefore; thebreech block does 4 not provide a complete closure for the ejection opening when the breech block is in firing position. In order to take carev of this deficiency, there is associated with the breech block a closure for closing the rear end of the ejection opening. In the present instance, the closure is in the form of a plate or wing 49 depending from the rear end portion of the arm 4|. It will be seen from Figs. 1 and 3 that, when the bree'clrblo'ck is in'its firing position, the closure closes the space between the rear end of the breech block and the rear edge of the ejection opening;

The operation of the gun will be readily under stood upon a review of my said patent. It is here suflicient to say that, upon firing a shell in the W generated, recoil rearwardly as a unit until the,

rearward movement of the barrel is about stopped by the recoil spring and its associated parts, whereupon the link, due to its, inertia, will continue to move rearwardly thereby disengaging the locking block from the barrel extension. As the recoil spring now returns the barrel to its forward position, the breech block will continueto move rearwardly and, as it approaches its rearmost position, the cross portion 45 of the member 40 will engage the abutment 52 provided at the rear end of the receiver, thus stopping this member slightly before the rearward movement of the breech block is stopped. Thus the member, in effect, is moved forwardly relative to the breech block from the position shown in Fig, 3 to the position shown in Fig. 4. r The result is that the forward end of the arm 42 is brought into overlying relation to the ledge 46 of the locking block so that the locking blockis latched down in inoperative position. "Theaction sprlng'will now move the breech block forwardly to breech closing position and as, duringsuch movement, theloeking block is latched down, it is held against engagement or Wiping action against the barrel extension rearwardly of the shoulder 3|. As the breech block finally moves to its full breech closing position, the forward end of the arm 4| will engage a shoulder 5| provided at the rear end of the barreLthus stopping the forward movement of the member 40 slightly before the forward movement of the breech block-is stopped, with l the result that the ledge of the locking block movesforwardly from beneath the latch arm, thus permitting the locking-block, under the influence of the action spring, to swing up into looking relation'with the barrelextenslon.

construction and many apparentIywideIy differ; ent embodiments of this invention could be made without departing fromthe-scope thereof, it-is intended that all matter contained in theabove description or shownin thegaccompanying draw; ingsshall be interpreted as;illustrativ e and not in a limiting sense. w y 7 'It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statementsof the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween; I claim asmy inventionz. I 1; m a recoil-operated: firearm,. a receiver,. a barrel mounted. for reciprocation'on the receiver, a breechblock mountedfor reciprocationon the receiver, a-locking block movably carried by said breech block for movement into and out, of lQck ing engagement with said barrehmeans formqv- .As many changes could'be made in the above ing the locking block towards unlocked position upon recoil movement of the barrel, a latching member for holding the said locking block in unlocked position during forward movement of the breech block until the breech block has reached substantially its foremost position, means for stopping rearward movement of said latching member as the breech block approaches its rearmost limit of recoil whereby the latching member is brought into latched position with respect to said locking block, and means for stopping forward movement of said latching member as the breech block approaches its breech closing position whereby the locking block is unlatched.

2. In a recoil-operated firearm, a receiver, a barrel, a breech block, a locking block on the breech block movable into and out of cooperative relationship with the barrel, said barrel and breech block being mounted for reciprocating movement relative to the receiver and said breech block having a longer recoil stroke than said barrel, means for restoring said barrel to its firing position during the interval when the breech block is undergoing its final recoil movement, means for restoring said breech block in cooperative locked relation with the barrel after the barrel has been restored to firing position, a

latching member carried by the breech block for latching the locking block in disengaged position during the forward movement of the breech block until substantially the breech block has reached its foremost position, an abutment on the receiver for establishing a latching relationship between the latching member and the locking block as the breech block approaches the rearmost limit of its recoil movement, and means for disengaging the latching member from the locking block as the breech block approaches its full breech closing position.

3. In a recoil-operated firearm, a receiver, a barrel having a barrel extension mounted for reciprocation in the receiver and provided with a locking shoulder, a breech block carried by the receiver and mounted for reciprocation thereon, a locking block carried by said breech block for movement between a locking position and an unlocked position, said locking block having a shoulder arranged to engage said first mentioned shoulder when the breech block is locked to the barrel extension, means for moving said locking block to unlocked position upon recoil movement of the barrel, means for restoring the barrel to its firing position, means for restoring the breech block in cooperative locked relation with the barrel after the barrel has been restored to firing position, and a latch member mounted on said breech block for longitudinal sliding movement relative thereto and constructed and arranged to hold said locking block in unlocked position during forward movement of the breech block until the breech block has substantially reached its foremost position, whereupon the latch member is disengaged from the locking block.

4. In a recoil-operated firearm, a receiver, a barrel having a barrel extension mounted for reciprocation in the receiver and provided with a locking shoulder, a breech block carried by the receiver and mounted for reciprocation thereon,

a locking block carried by said breech block for movement between a locking position and an unlocked position, said locking block having a shoulder arranged to engage said first mentioned shoulder when the breech block is locked to the barrel extension, means for moving said locking block to unlocked position upon recoil movement of the barrel, means for restoring the barrel to its firing position, means for restoring the breech block in cooperative locked relation with the barrel after the barrel has been restored to firing position, and a latch member carried by said breech block for sliding longitudinal movement relative thereto and having a forward position with respect to the breech block in which the latch member maintains said locking block in unlocked position during the forward movement of the breech block until the'breech block has substantially reached its foremost position, said latch member in its rearmost position with respect to the breech block being in inoperative position, a shoulder for stopping the rearward movement of the latch member and then the rearward movement of the breech block whereby the latch member is engaged with the locking block as the breech block approaches its rearmost limit of recoil movement, and a shoulder against which said latch member engages as the breech block approaches its full breech closing position whereby said latch member is disengaged from the locking block.

5. In a recoil-operated firearm, a receiver having an ejection opening, a barrel mounted for reciprocation on the receiver, a breech block mounted for reciprocation on said receiver and of lesser length than the length of said ejection opening, a locking block movably carried by said breech block for movement into and out of locking engagement with said barrel, means for moving the locking. block towards unlocked position upon recoil movement of the barrel, a latching member for holding said locking block in unlocked position during forward movement of the breech block until the breech block has reached substantially its foremost position, means, for

stopping rearward movement of the latching opening when the breech block is in breech closing position.

VAL A. BROWNING.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,353,736 Fargnhar et al Sept. 21, 1920 1,395,455 Searle Nov. 1 1921 

